Hello. I've been using the DVD Shrink and DVD Decrypter since October of 2005. Most of the time, it has worked very well for me and my backup copies work very well. However lately I have been experiencing some problems, and the same thing seems to be happening over and over. To give some background, I use a DELL to make the backup copies, 4.7 GB Sony DVD-R's and DVD Shrink 3.2 to make the ISO with the latest version of DVD Decrypter to burn. I use my Playstation 2 to play the DVD's. Now the same problem keeps occuring. As the movie comes toward the ending, be it 15 minutes left, or 10 minutes left, it will start to skip and boxes will appear everywhere. It becomes unwatchable, and eventually it may just stop. When it does this I will take it on the computer where most of the time it is able to push through the 'problems'. Sometimes however, my most recent cases being OUT OF THE PAST and HOTEL RWANDA, the film will stop DEAD at a certain point. Luckily I still had ISO's on my computer so I watched the rest of the movie doing that. This is becoming very annoying because as a movie approaches the end I am terrified it is just going to start crapping out very badly on me. Does anyone have any reccomendations for me? Or any answers for what is causing this odd problem? Any help would be very appreciated on this subject. Thanks, Drew
Hi DrewG7 and welcome to AD. Most likely your problems are due to poor media and burning to close to the edge. The boxes are pixelation. The recommended media on AfterDawn is TaiyoYuden, Verbatim, and media "Made in Japan" ie. Sony, Fujifilm, and Maxell. Look on the label, as the media can also come from Taiwan and is generally regarded as poor. Verbatim is the only exception. Set the settings to 4300-4350, away from the edge. From ScubaPete's guide.... DVD Shrink. Open it and click "Edit", then click "Preferences" on this page we're going to select "DVD Target Size" as "Custom" and set the size between "4300" and "4360MB" - we do this to make sure that we don't write too close to the edge of the disc.
>>>>> Or any answers for what is causing this odd problem? If you peruse these forums you will see that this isn't odd, but a very common problem that is usually solved as per mackdl's advice. I would add that it's most important to find media that is a good match for your burner, one size does not fit all. And remember a Brand name on the box does not mean it's the same media everytime. I have Imation discs that are made by Fuji and Fuji discs that are made by ProDisc... go figure.
How are TaiyoYuden considered the absolute best at such a cheap price? Seems like a no brainer.. (How much writing space is there on a TaiyoYuden DVD-R?)
Cheap price? The TY's are by far some of the most expensive 16X discs out there. The lower end, lower speed 'Value Line' can be found cheaply and they are far from the 'absolute best'. I'll stick to the Verbatim (MCC) 16X printables, great discs, reasonable price, readily available and probably the longest life of any media out there.
DrewG7, You may also want to check and make sure it's not your PS2 by testing the burned discs in another dvd player.
@drewG7 You might also check if there is a big fat finger print on the edge of the disc where you picked it up with sticky fingers! LOL
